Protective helmet and device for drying and storing the same

ABSTRACT

A protective helmet ( 1, 31 ) is designed to be mounted on a device for drying and storing protective helmets ( 1, 31 ). For this purpose, it has a ventilating opening ( 5, 32 ) through which hot air can be blown from the helmet-drying and -storing device into the interior of the helmet by means of a nozzle ( 11, 32 ).

The invention relates to a protective helmet, in particular a wintersports helmet, and a device for drying and storing the helmet.

Due to the rapid technical development and increasing variety of wintersports equipment and accessories therefor, there is a constantlyincreasing trend to rent winter sports equipment, for example skis,snowboards, luges, or accessories thereof, for example boots. Theseaccessories also include protective helmets for winter sports.

Whereas for the rental of, for example, ski boots racks are commerciallyavailable, on the heated shelves of which the boots are stored anddried, there are no known devices for the rental of winter sportshelmets, in which the latter can be stored in a neatly arranged mannerand dried simultaneously.

Due to the occasional bustling activity in renting agencies, for therental of helmets fast access is as important as fast drying of thehelmets, which have to be disinfected and dried after each rental.

It is therefore the object of the invention to provide a device by meansof which protective helmets, in particular winter sports helmets, can bestored in a neatly arranged manner and dried simultaneously.

In accordance with the invention, this is achieved by providing thewinter sports helmet according to claim 1 and the device for drying andstoring the helmet according to claim 9. Preferred embodiments of theprotective helmet according to the invention and/or the device accordingto the invention are described in sub-claims 2 to 8 and/or 10 to 21.

According to the invention, the protective helmet is designed to bemounted on a device for drying and storing the helmet and provided witha ventilating opening through which hot air can be blown from thehelmet-drying and -storing device into the interior of the helmet bymeans of a nozzle.

The ventilating opening may be one of several ventilating openings, withwhich sports helmets are typically provided.

Especially in winter sports helmets, the ventilating openings arepreferably provided at a place of the helmet and designed such that theair is capable of escaping from the interior of the helmet, but the coldhead wind does not blow through the ventilating openings into theinterior of the helmet, thus in the longitudinal direction of the helmetin the middle area and in the occipital area but not in the foreheadarea. For example in summer sports helmets, e.g. for cyclists, theventilating openings are, in comparison, preferably provided at thefront, i.e. on the face side.

Usually, the helmet preferably has an external shell, e.g. of hardplastic or polycarbonate, and a core, preferably of foamed material,e.g. of polystyrene. The foam core may be provided with a lining,preferably of an air-permeable textile material, for example acoarse-meshed or soft fabric for the absorption of sweat, as well aspads to adjust the helmet to the head size. The lining and the pads may,for example, be connected to the foam core by means of a hook-and-loopfastener. The ventilating opening through which hot, dry air is blownfrom the helmet-drying and -storing device into the interior of thehelmet by means of a nozzle is formed by means of an opening in theexternal shell preferably communicating with channels in the corethrough which the hot air is blown into the interior of the helmet.

In case of a winter sports helmet, the ventilating opening through whichthe hot air is blown into the interior of the helmet is preferablyprovided in the occipital area of the helmet, for example in the lowerhalf of the occipital area of the head, preferably in the transversedirection in the middle of the helmet, but it might also be located atany other place on the helmet.

In general, winter sports helmets are provided with earmuffs having amore or less thick padding and usually protrude downwards far beyond theexternal shell of the helmet. Due to the earmuffs, the winter sportshelmet thus occupies a substantial additional volume, which is anobstacle to the limited space available in, for example, rentingagencies of winter sports equipment.

In order to clearly reduce the space required for the winter sportshelmet, the two earmuffs of the helmet are, according to the invention,preferably designed in such a way that they can be folded inwardstowards each other to the respectively opposite side of the helmet anddetachably connected to each other in the folded state.

For this purpose, the earmuffs are hinged to the helmet. For adetachable connection, a hook-and-loop connection, a plug-in connection,for example on the chin-cup strap of the winter sports helmet, asnap-fastener connection, a magnetic connection or the like may beprovided.

Preferably, the ventilating opening, through which the hot air is blowninto the helmet, may also serve to mount the protective helmet, namelyby being designed such that the nozzle through which the hot air of thehelmet-drying and -storing device can be blown may be inserted.

In addition, the nozzle preferably engages with a recess in the helmetin order that the nozzle inserted into the ventilating opening of theexternal shell does not merely touch the edge of the opening of theexternal shell and the mounted helmet is thus caused to swing. Thisrecess may be an opening in the foam core aligned with the opening inthe external shell. Preferably, however, it is formed by a recess in thefoam core on the side of the foam core facing the external shell, withsaid recess preferably extending in the longitudinal direction of thehelmet, thus from behind in the direction of the forehead area of thehelmet. The length of the nozzle section extending through the openingin the external shell to the recess may, for example, be 3 to 20centimetres.

The nozzle for the insertion into the ventilating opening may bearranged horizontally in order to hold the helmet mounted thereon.Preferably, however, the nozzles, which are inserted into theventilating opening, project obliquely or vertically upwards.

In the event that the helmet has further ventilating openings inaddition to the ventilating opening for blowing in the hot air, theventilating opening through which the hot air is blown can be connectedto the remaining ventilating openings of the helmet via channels, forexample between the external shell and the foam core, in order tocommunicate with each other. It is thus ensured that the hot airsupplied through the nozzle is distributed to the individual ventilatingopenings and hence blown into the interior of the helmet via a pluralityof ventilating openings for drying.

Preferably, a closing plate is provided between the external shell andthe foam core, with said closing plate being closable between an openposition slid towards the front, thus in the direction of the foreheadarea of the helmet, in which the ventilating openings are open, and aclosed position slid backwards, i.e. towards the occipital area, inwhich the ventilating openings are closed. In the closed position, therear edge of the closing plate is preferably arranged at the opening inthe external shell through which the nozzle is inserted such that theclosing plate is moved to the open position by the nozzle when thelatter is inserted into the opening in the external shell.

It is thus ensured that, for drying the helmet, all ventilating openingsare open, that is to say a maximum air passage from the interior to theoutside during the drying process is provided for.

For adjusting the width of the ventilating openings when wearing thehelmet, the closing plate is connected to a handle, for example a gripprotruding from the external shell to the outside, which is connected tothe closing plate by means of a slot in the external shell extending inthe longitudinal direction of the helmet.

According to a further embodiment, the protective helmet has at leastone part made of ferromagnetic material in order to mount the protectivehelmet on the helmet-drying and -storing device, which, for thispurpose, is provided with at least one magnet, preferably a permanentmagnet. Of course, the at least one part of ferromagnetic material canalso be formed by a permanent magnet.

In order that the helmet mounted on the the helmet-drying and -storingdevice is secured against twisting, preferably at least two parts offerromagnetic material spaced from each other are provided on thehelmet, preferably two parts of ferromagnetic material on both sides ofthe ventilating openings of the helmet.

The helmet-drying and -storing device according to the invention ispreferably formed by a stand, a rack or the like having a plurality ofnozzles for supplying hot air, i.e. preferably dry air heated aboveambient temperature, in order to simultaneously store and dry a largenumber of winter sports helmets, for example in a renting agency.

The nozzles are connected to each other by means of a line, for examplea flexible tube or a duct through which the hot, dry air is supplied.

Preferably, the rack or stand has a plurality of lines arranged oneabove the other and provided with a plurality of adjacently arrangednozzles for supplying the hot, dry air. The hot air is thus distributedto the individual nozzles via said lines.

In case of the protective helmets where the ventilating opening formounting the protective helmet is designed to insert the nozzle, thenozzles for attaching the helmets may extend from the lines in thehorizontal direction; preferably, however, they extend upwards.Preferably, the length of the nozzles is dimensioned such that thehelmet mounted thereon rests with the occipital area of the externalshell on the line or any other stop. As a result, the helmets mounted onthe nozzles are largely secured.

The helmet-drying and -storing device, which is provided with at leastone part of a ferromagnetic material for mounting the helmets, has atleast one magnet attracting the at least one part of ferromagneticmaterial at the protective helmet.

The at least one magnet is arranged on the nozzle. Preferably, it isresiliently mounted on the latter such that it lies flat against the atleast one part of ferromagnetic material of the protective helmet. It isthereby avoided that the helmet attached to the helmet-drying and-storing device loosens in case of a tilting or oscillating movement andthus falls down, for example, when being pushed accidentally.

For the resilient mounting of the at least one magnet on the nozzle, themagnet may be connected to the nozzle by means of a rubbery-elasticbody.

In case of protective helmets provided with a part of ferromagneticmaterial on both sides of the ventilating opening, the helmet-drying and-storing device has two magnets which are preferably connected to eachother by means of a bridge.

The bridge may be formed by a connecting piece, with the ventilatingopening of the protective helmet being arranged between the two magnetswhen the protective helmet is clamped on the helmet-drying and -storingdevice.

The connecting piece is provided with the nozzle through which the hotair is blown into the helmet. The nozzle of the connecting piece isconnectable to the line for supplying the hot air, which is provided,for example, on the rack or stand.

The connecting piece has a sealing lip arranged around the nozzle andhermetically sealing the ventilating opening of the protective helmet inprotective helmets held by the two magnets. For this purpose, the twomagnets with the sealing lip must either be flush with the sealing lipor the sealing lip must protrude beyond the two magnets.

Preferably, the connecting piece consists of rubbery-elastic material.It may be formed as an integrally moulded part. The connecting piecemay, however, also be designed as an articulated multi-part component.In another possible embodiment variant, a stable bridge for receivingtwo magnets is attached to a flexible strap, thus allowing anoscillating movement, which, in turn, prevents an unintentionalloosening of the magnetic connection.

The magnets on the helmet-drying and -storing device may, for example,be formed cylindrically or conically. The magnets may be attached to theconnecting piece by a frictional connection, a tight fit, screwing,locking or the like. The magnets may also be injected into theconnecting piece.

Preferably, the part of ferromagnetic material is formed by a plateinserted into an opening in the external shell of the helmet. For theattachment of the plate, the latter may have a flange engaging behindthe opening in the external shell and, for example, being bondedtherewith.

The helmet according to the invention and the helmet-drying and -storingdevice according to the invention will be described in more detail belowby way of example with reference to the enclosed drawings. In thedrawings is shown schematically:

FIG. 1 a and FIG. 2 a a perspective view of a winter sports helmetaccording to a first embodiment of the invention, namely with openand/or closed ventilating openings;

FIG. 1 b and FIG. 2 b a longitudinal section through the helmetaccording to FIG. 1 a and/or FIG. 1 b;

FIG. 3 a stand including a plurality of nozzles for attaching wintersports helmets for drying and storing the helmets;

FIGS. 4 a and 4 b a longitudinal section through the helmet according toFIG. 1 b and FIG. 2 b during the attachment to a nozzle of the standaccording to FIG. 3 and/or in the attached state;

FIG. 5 a perspective view of a winter sports helmet according to afurther embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 a perspective view of a connecting piece for mounting the helmetaccording to FIG. 5 for drying and storing the helmet;

FIG. 7 a lateral view of a plurality of helmets according to FIG. 5lined up in succession along a pipeline section of a helmet-drying and-storing device, each being held by a connecting piece according to FIG.6; and

FIG. 8 a cross section through an earmuff of the helmet according toFigure la along the line VIII-VIII.

According to FIG 1 a and FIG. 2 a, a winter sports helmet 1 has aplurality of ventilating openings 2 to 7.

The chin-cup strap of the helmet 1 is identified by reference numeral 8and the face opening of the helmet 1 by reference numeral 9.

According to FIG. 4 a and FIG. 4 b, the ventilating opening 5 in theoccipital area of the helmet 1 is designed so as to insert a nozzle 11for supplying hot air according to the arrow 12 and for mounting thehelmet 1 on a stand 13 for drying and storing a plurality of helmets 1(FIG. 3).

The ventilating openings 2, 3 and 4 are arranged in the middle area ofthe helmet and designed such that, when wearing the helmet, the moistair can escape from the interior of the helmet 1, but the cold head windcannot blow through the ventilating openings 2 to 4 into the interior ofthe helmet 1.

The helmet 1 has a hard external shell 14 and a foam core 15.

As illustrated by the ventilating openings 2 to 5, the ventilatingopenings are formed by openings 16 to 18 in the external shell 14 andopenings 19 to 21 in the foam core 15, which communicate and/or arealigned with the openings 16 to 18 in the external shell 14.

The ventilating opening 5 for inserting the nozzle 11 for supplying hot,dry air 12 and for mounting the helmet 1 on the stand 13 is provided inthe longitudinal direction of the helmet in the centre of the occipitalarea of the helmet 1.

In order to secure the helmet 1 attached to the nozzle 11, a recess 22extending upwards and forwards in the longitudinal direction of thehelmet from the opening 18 on the side of the foam core 15 facing theexternal shell 14 is provided in the foam core.

Between the external shell 14 and the foam core 15, a closing plate 23is arranged, which is slidable between an open front position shown inFIG. 1 a and FIG. 1 b, in which the ventilating openings 2 to 4 areopen, and a closed rear position shown in FIG. 2 a and FIG. 2 b, inwhich the ventilating openings 2 to 4 are closed.

As can be seen from FIG. 4 a, the rear edge 24 of the closing plate 23is arranged at the opening 18 in the external shell 14 of theventilating opening 5 in such a way that, as illustrated in FIG. 4 b,the closing plate 23 is moved to the open position by the nozzle 11 whenthe nozzle 11 is inserted.

For moving the closing plate 23, a grip or another handle 28 of thatkind as well as a slot 25 extending in the longitudinal direction of theexternal shell 14 of the helmet 1, via which the handle 28 is connectedto the closing plate 23, are provided on the outer face of the externalshell 14 (cf. FIGS. 1 a and 2 a).

According to FIG. 3, the stand 13 has a plurality of lines 26 arrangedone above the other through which the hot air is supplied to the nozzles11 adjacently arranged at the lines 26 and substantially extendingvertically upwards. In this way, the helmets 1 are neatly arranged onthe stand 13, for example with the interior facing the viewer asillustrated.

Thus, the ventilating opening 5 has three functions. That is to say, onthe one hand, it serves—like the remaining ventilating openings 2 to 4as well as 6 and 7—as an outlet for moist air during skiing or any otherwinter sports and, on the other hand, hot, dry air flows into theinterior of the helmet 1 via the ventilating opening 5 according to thearrows 27 (FIG. 4 b); finally, it serves to securely fix the helmet tothe stand 13.

The lines 26 of the stand 13 may be formed by pipelines and the nozzles11 by pipe sockets connected to the pipelines, which, as shown in FIGS.4 a and 4 b, may also be formed angularly.

The helmet 31 according to FIG. 5 mainly differs from the helmet 1according to FIGS. 1 a, 1 b, 2 a, 2 b as well as 4 a and 4 b in that, incase of the helmet according to FIG. 5, a part 33 a, 33 b offerromagnetic material is attached to the occipital area of the helmet31 on both sides of the ventilating opening 32 for mounting the helmet31 on a helmet-drying and -storing device instead of the ventilatingopening 5 designed to insert a nozzle 11.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the helmet-drying and -storing device has twomagnets 34 a, 34 b for each helmet 31, with the magnets 34 a, 34 bmagnetically attracting the ferromagnetic parts 33 a, 33 b on the helmet31, as shown by the double-headed arrows 35 a, 35 b, and thus holdingthe helmet 31 on the helmet-drying and -storing device.

The magnets 34 a, 34 b, which are marked by dashed lines in FIG. 6, arearranged on both sides of a nozzle 36 likewise marked by dashed linesthrough which hot, dry air is blown into the ventilating opening 32 ofthe helmet 31 as illustrated by the arrow 37, with the hot, dry airbeing supplied to the nozzle 36 via the pipeline 38, which is providedfor this purpose with corresponding openings 40 (cf. also FIG. 7).

The magnets 34 a, 34 b are resiliently mounted on the nozzle 36 suchthat the magnets 34 a, 34 b lie flat against the ferromagnetic parts 33a, 33 b formed by small plates.

In order to achieve the necessary degrees of freedom for a flat abutmenton the ferromagnetic parts 33 a, 33 b, the magnets 34 a, 34 b may,however, also be mounted in another manner, for example by flexibletraction mechanisms such as cords or straps.

According to FIG. 6, the flat abutment of the magnets 33 a, 33 b on theferromagnetic parts 33 a, 33 b of the helmet is achieved by means of aconnecting piece 39 of a rubbery-elastic plastic material.

The connecting piece 39 has a sleeve 41, into which the pipeline 38 isinserted, with the latter having openings 40 for supplying the hot, dryair to the nozzle 36, as shown in FIG. 7 by way of example.

Furthermore, the connecting piece 39 has a bridge 42, in which the twomagnets 34 a, 34 b are mounted, as well as a section 43 connecting thecorresponding opening 40 in the pipeline 38 to the nozzle 39.

In addition, two arms 44 a, 44 b extending from the sleeve 41 to the oneand/or the other end of the bridge 42 are provided for stabilisationpurposes.

In order to increase its flexibility, slots 45 are also provided in thearms 44 a, 44 b and the section 43 of the connecting piece 39 made of arubbery-elastic material.

On the side facing the helmet 31, the bridge 42 is provided with asealing lip 46, which hermetically seals the ventilating opening 32 inthe helmet 31 in case of the helmet 31 held by the two magnets 34 a, 34b.

In order that the two magnets 34 a, 34 b are capable of contacting theferromagnetic parts 33 a, 33 b on the helmet 31, the magnets 34 a, 34 bare either flush with the sealing lip 46 at the bottom or therubbery-elastic sealing lip 46 slightly protrudes downwards beyond thetwo magnets 34 a, 34 b.

As can be seen from FIG. 7, a plurality of helmets 31 may neatly bearranged in a space-saving manner on a pipeline 38 of a helmet-dryingand -storing device, for example on a rack or a stand of a rentingagency, with the connecting piece on the right side of the pipelinebeing omitted in FIG. 7 so that the opening 40 is visible.

In the event that a helmet 31 is removed, all that has to be done is toclose the nozzle 36 in the connecting piece 39, for example by means ofa stopper.

It can also be seen from FIG. 7 that, for a space-saving arrangement ofthe helmets 31, the helmets 31 should take up as little space aspossible in the horizontal direction. For this reason, the ferromagneticparts 33 a, 33 b on the helmet 31 are arranged in the lower half 47 ofthe occipital area 48 of the helmet 31.

The winter sports helmets 1, 31 are provided with padded earmuffs 48 a,48 b, wherein the earmuff 48 b arranged on the other side of the helmetis not visible in the drawing and indicated by an arrow in FIG. 1 a.

The two earmuffs 48 a, 48 b can be folded inwards towards each other, asillustrated by the arrow 49 in FIG. 1 a with respect to the earmuff 48a, and detachably connected to each other in the folded state (FIG. 7).

In order to be able to fold them inwards or swivel them, a swivellingaxis 51 is provided. The swivelling axis 51 can, for example, be formedby a film hinge as illustrated in FIG. 8.

Accordingly, the earmuff 48 a (as well as the earmuff 48 b), which is,for example, attached to the external shell 14 of the helmet 1 by rivets55, comprises a padding 52 surrounded by an outer skin 53 and an innerskin 54, for example a fabric. In the area of the swivelling axis 51,the padding 52 is omitted and the outer skin 53 and the inner skin 54are connected to each other, for example welded or sewed.

For a detachable connection of the two earmuffs 48 a, 48 b foldedinwards, a hook-and-loop fastener may be provided, for example ahook-and-loop tape 56 a at the one earmuff 48 a and, for example, ahook-and-loop tape 56 b on the outer face of the chin-cup strap 8, whichis attached to the other earmuff 48 a as illustrated in FIG. 1 a. Byturning the chin-cup strap 8 inwards about its longitudinal axis, thehook-and-loop tape 56 b can be fixed to the hook-and-loop tape 56 a.

According to FIG. 7, significant additional space is saved for thehelmets 31 on the pipeline 38 of the helmet-drying and -storing devicedue to the earmuffs 48 a and 48 b folded inwards and fixed about theswivelling axes 51.

1. A protective helmet, characterized in that the helmet is designed tobe mounted on a device for drying and storing of protective helmets andhas a ventilating opening (5, 32) to blow hot air from the helmet-dryingand -storing device into the interior of the helmet by means of a nozzle(11, 36).
 2. A protective helmet according to claim 1, characterized byan external shell (14) and a core (15) on the inner face of the externalshell (14), wherein the ventilating opening (5, 32) is formed by anopening in the external shell (14) communicating with channels in thecore (15) through which the hot air is blown into the interior of thehelmet.
 3. A protective helmet according to claim 1, characterized inthat the ventilating opening (5, 32) through which the hot air is blowninto the interior of the helmet is provided in the occipital area (48)of the helmet (1, 31).
 4. A protective helmet according to claim 1,characterized in that the protective helmet (31) has earmuffs (48 a, 48b) which can be folded inwards towards each other and detachablyconnected to each other in the folded state.
 5. A protective helmetaccording to claim 1, characterized in that the ventilating opening (5)is designed to mount the protective helmet (1) and simultaneously insertthe nozzle (11) through which the hot air is blown from thehelmet-drying and -storing device into the interior of the helmet.
 6. Aprotective helmet according to claim 5, characterized in that a recess(22) for inserting the nozzle (11) extends from the ventilating opening(5) in the external shell (14) on the side of the core (15) facing theexternal shell (14).
 7. A protective helmet according to claim 1,characterized in that the protective helmet (31) has at least one part(33 a, 33 b) made of ferromagnetic material in order to mount theprotective helmet (31) on the helmet-drying and -storing device, whichis provided with at least one magnet (34 a, 34 b).
 8. A protectivehelmet according to claim 7, characterized in that a part (33 a, 33 b)of ferromagnetic material is provided on both sides of the ventilatingopening (32).
 9. A device for drying and storing a protective helmet,characterized by at least one nozzle (11, 36) for supplying hot air to aventilating opening (5, 32) of the protective helmet (1, 31).
 10. Adevice according to claim 9, characterized by a plurality of nozzles(11, 36) for supplying hot air to a plurality of protective helmets (1,31).
 11. A device according to claim 10, characterized by at least oneline (26, 38) by which hot air can be supplied to a plurality ofprotective helmets (1, 31) via the nozzles (11, 36) for drying.
 12. Adevice according to claim 9, characterized in that the at least onenozzle (11) is designed to mount the protective helmet (1).
 13. A deviceaccording to claim 9, characterized by at least one magnet (34 a, 34 b)configured to attract at least one part (33 a, 33 b) of ferromagneticmaterial of a protective helmet (31) for mounting the protective helmet(31) on the nozzle (36).
 14. A device according to claim 13,characterized in that at least one magnet (34 a, 34 b) is resilientlymounted on the nozzle (36) such that the at least one magnet (34 a, 34b) lies flat against the at least one part (33 a, 33 b) of ferromagneticmaterial when mounting the protective helmet to the device.
 15. A deviceaccording to claim 14, characterized in that a rubbery-elastic body isprovided to resiliently mount the at least one magnet (34 a, 34 b) onthe nozzle (36).
 16. A device according to claim 13, characterized bytwo magnets (34 a, 34 b) configured to attract parts (33 a, 33 b) offerromagnetic material on both sides of a ventilating opening (32) ofthe protective helmet (31), the parts (33 a, 33 b) of ferromagneticmaterial are connected to each other by means of a bridge (42).
 17. Adevice according to claim 16, characterized in that the bridge (42) isformed by a connecting piece (39), wherein the nozzle (36) for supplyinghot air to the ventilating opening (32) of the protective helmet (319 isarranged between the two magnets (34 a, 34 b).
 18. A device according toclaim 17, characterized in that the nozzle (36) in the connecting piece(39) is connectable to the line (38) for supplying the hot air.
 19. Adevice according to claim 17, characterized the connecting piece (39)has a sealing lip (46) arranged around the nozzle (36) and enclosing theventilating opening (32) of the protective helmet (31) in a protectivehelmet (32) held by the two magnets (34 a, 34 b).
 20. A device accordingto claim 19, characterized by one of the two magnets (34 a, 34 b) areflush with the sealing lip (46) and the sealing lip (46) protrudesbeyond the two magnets (34 a, 34 b).
 21. A device according to claim 17,characterized in that the connecting piece (39) is made ofrubbery-elastic material and formed as a single piece.